שַׁחֲרוּת
𐤔𐤇𐤓𐤅𐤕
shachărûwth
H7839 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
The state or period of early life, specifically youth or young adulthood, characterized by vigor, freshness, and the qualities associated with the beginning phase of physical and social maturity. Refers specifically to the early, formative stage of a person's life.
Semantic Range
youth, early stage of life, juvenescence, time of freshness or vigor, metaphorical dawn or beginning (esp. of adulthood)
Root / Etymology
Root: שחר. The root שׁ־ח־ר (שחר) holds the core meaning 'to seek early, to be early, to dawn.' The noun שַׁחֲרוּת is derived from the root and properly conveys the idea of 'the time of dawn' or 'the beginning (of life).' The lexical sense shifts from the literal 'dawn, daybreak' to a metaphorical meaning of 'youth' as the beginning phase of human life.
Historical & Contextual Notes
שַׁחֲרוּת occurs rarely in the Hebrew Bible, most notably in Psalm 110:3, where it describes the 'dew of youth.' The word uses imagery familiar from other Semitic languages in which daybreak is metaphorically associated with beginnings, freshness, or an early stage. In Israelite literature, youth is often associated with ideal vitality and potential. The term bears close lexical and conceptual relation to nouns denoting dawn or morning (e.g., שַׁחַר), but semantically its primary use is to speak of a human life stage, rather than simply the time of day. English translations sometimes narrow this to 'youth' or 'young man,' but the term is broader, denoting the full stage of early vigor. In later Hebrew (Mishnaic and beyond), related forms continue to carry a sense of early, formative life stages. In Greek and later translations (e.g., LXX), it may be rendered with words for youth or young men, and later translations sometimes render it as 'young men,' 'freshness,' or even 'dew.' The term should not be confused with נְעוּרִים (ne‘urim), which also means 'youth' but is etymologically distinct, or with other words for 'boy' or 'child' which emphasize smallness or dependency rather than vigor and freshness.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from שָׁחַר; a dawning, i.e. (figuratively) juvenescence; youth.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שחר (š-ḥ-r) — to seek early, to dawn, to be early, to be eager
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4891 | מִשְׁחָר | earliest dawn-light |
| H6890 | צֶרֶת הַשַּׁחַר | the dawn-light |
| H7815 | שְׁחוֹר | black soot |
| H7835 | שָׁחַר | dawn-light |
| H7836 | שָׁחַר | I earnestly-seek you |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7839-01 |
וְ/הַֽ/שַּׁחֲר֖וּת | vehashacharut | HC/Td/Ncfsa |
the dawn of life | and the dawn-youth | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H7839-01 |
Ecclesiastes 11:10 | וְ/הַֽ/שַּׁחֲר֖וּת | vehashacharut | HC/Td/Ncfsa |
the dawn of life | and the dawn-youth |